Francie Mae
New member
- Feb 22, 2025
- 25
- 7
- Parrots
- Bare-eyed cockatoo
Hello y'all! I hope that everyone's doing well 
It's been about a month since we brought our bare-eyed cockatoo Grim home (he's six months old), and while it's been great, there's been a recent disconcerting change.
1. change in behavior
So for context, Grim's cage was in my room for the first two weeks, and then he was moved to the living room. It was always our plan to move him there , but we did so a bit sooner than planned because he seems to appreciate being in a more high-traffic area, especially when I'm at school (I'm gone each day for about six hours, but there's always somebody else home, and usually they are in the living room). He handled the change really well, and while he's apprehensive of our Labrador (she's an off-duty service dog and therefore very well mannered and trained) he's not terrified. He raises his crest and maybe will find a higher place to perch. The trend of him adoring my mom has continued, but he was still affectionate with my dad and I. He would perch on our shoulders and take veggies or nuts from our hands, and he even came to appreciate head scratches. Thankfully, he still behaves this way with my dad, and continues to love my mom (he screams when she leaves the room, but she doesn't respond or come back until he starts talking quietly instead), but now he's strangely terrified of me? Or my hands, rather.
I have a few ideas as to why, but let me say right off the bat that I would never yell at him or hurt him. I've interacted with him the same way that I always have, but maybe a little bit less, and that's my first theory--I came down with a really bad cold or flu and was in bed for about two days. I didn't interact with him much beyond walking through the room and saying hi. Once I was a bit better, I went to offer him my shoulder to see if he'd step up, but he wouldn't. I figured that it was because I hadn't interacted with him on a personal, attentive level for a few days. However, he continued to avoid stepping up, so I gave him some space but still hung out in the room and talked with him. He still gives me about the same amount of vocalization in return as he always has. He also likes to run his beak along my shoulder if I offer it to him, and lightly grab at my hair, so it seems like he still has some level of comfort with me. Before I was sick, I would pet his head/upper neck area, so when he approached me the other day I slowly moved my hand to pet him, and he stumbled back so quickly that he lost his balance. I backed off. He's continued to react that way if my hand is anywhere above my waist-line, and he won't take food from me anymore, either. He's always been good about taking food from people, even people he doesn't know super well, so the change is pretty alarming. When he backs into his cage he starts shaking, but something I should've mentioned in earlier posts is that he seems to tremble a lot, even before he developed this new fear of me. It's not a severe amount of shaking, but it's noticeable.
My other theory is that maybe he's developed a disliking for young people? My brother has in no means hurt the bird or anything of that sort, but he's very loud. He's always banging around the house or getting excited with his friends on the phone. He also hasn't made a huge effort to befriend Grim, so I'm wondering if Grim has come to associate young people with unpredictability without any other good qualities (not giving treats or pets).
Does anyone have any insight on to what may have caused the change in Grim's behavior? He didn't seem extremely apprehensive of me once I started interacting with him after being sick, maybe just cautious, but now he's suddenly (seemingly) terrified of my hands. He does like to touch my shoulder with his talons or beak, but he doesn't step up anymore. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
2. stretching
My dad asked me to post pictures of Grim stretching and ask what the deal with that was, because he always does a slow stretch of his wings, individually and then both, when he's approached. I think it's because we always tell him he looks so pretty and therefore associates it with praise, but my dad is wondering if it's maybe a defensive 'i'm bigger than you' response. He's also been hanging upside down from a perch extending from the outside of his cage and flapping his wings like crazy with an occasional scream, but to me that seems like he's bored and trying to entertain himself. Or maybe trying to practice flying? He still hasn't actually flown.
3. diet
We also have been concerned about his diet. He doesn't get an excessive amount of treats, and if he's being hand fed, it will sometimes be with the food that's normally already in his chop, but recently he became disinterested in his chop and only eats his seed mix. He's had an appropriate ratio of both, but he suddenly doesn't like the chop anymore. We're not sure why that is or what to do.
TLDR: Parrot is now afraid of me, why could that be/what should I do? Is trembling normal? Why does he always stretch when he's approached? How can we make sure he's eating right? Is there anything we should do to encourage him learning to fly now that his feathers are growing back (after his previous handler clipped them)?
Thank you for taking the time to read, sorry again about the length. We want to make sure we're doing right by our little buddy.
It's been about a month since we brought our bare-eyed cockatoo Grim home (he's six months old), and while it's been great, there's been a recent disconcerting change.1. change in behavior
So for context, Grim's cage was in my room for the first two weeks, and then he was moved to the living room. It was always our plan to move him there , but we did so a bit sooner than planned because he seems to appreciate being in a more high-traffic area, especially when I'm at school (I'm gone each day for about six hours, but there's always somebody else home, and usually they are in the living room). He handled the change really well, and while he's apprehensive of our Labrador (she's an off-duty service dog and therefore very well mannered and trained) he's not terrified. He raises his crest and maybe will find a higher place to perch. The trend of him adoring my mom has continued, but he was still affectionate with my dad and I. He would perch on our shoulders and take veggies or nuts from our hands, and he even came to appreciate head scratches. Thankfully, he still behaves this way with my dad, and continues to love my mom (he screams when she leaves the room, but she doesn't respond or come back until he starts talking quietly instead), but now he's strangely terrified of me? Or my hands, rather.
I have a few ideas as to why, but let me say right off the bat that I would never yell at him or hurt him. I've interacted with him the same way that I always have, but maybe a little bit less, and that's my first theory--I came down with a really bad cold or flu and was in bed for about two days. I didn't interact with him much beyond walking through the room and saying hi. Once I was a bit better, I went to offer him my shoulder to see if he'd step up, but he wouldn't. I figured that it was because I hadn't interacted with him on a personal, attentive level for a few days. However, he continued to avoid stepping up, so I gave him some space but still hung out in the room and talked with him. He still gives me about the same amount of vocalization in return as he always has. He also likes to run his beak along my shoulder if I offer it to him, and lightly grab at my hair, so it seems like he still has some level of comfort with me. Before I was sick, I would pet his head/upper neck area, so when he approached me the other day I slowly moved my hand to pet him, and he stumbled back so quickly that he lost his balance. I backed off. He's continued to react that way if my hand is anywhere above my waist-line, and he won't take food from me anymore, either. He's always been good about taking food from people, even people he doesn't know super well, so the change is pretty alarming. When he backs into his cage he starts shaking, but something I should've mentioned in earlier posts is that he seems to tremble a lot, even before he developed this new fear of me. It's not a severe amount of shaking, but it's noticeable.
My other theory is that maybe he's developed a disliking for young people? My brother has in no means hurt the bird or anything of that sort, but he's very loud. He's always banging around the house or getting excited with his friends on the phone. He also hasn't made a huge effort to befriend Grim, so I'm wondering if Grim has come to associate young people with unpredictability without any other good qualities (not giving treats or pets).
Does anyone have any insight on to what may have caused the change in Grim's behavior? He didn't seem extremely apprehensive of me once I started interacting with him after being sick, maybe just cautious, but now he's suddenly (seemingly) terrified of my hands. He does like to touch my shoulder with his talons or beak, but he doesn't step up anymore. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated.
2. stretching
My dad asked me to post pictures of Grim stretching and ask what the deal with that was, because he always does a slow stretch of his wings, individually and then both, when he's approached. I think it's because we always tell him he looks so pretty and therefore associates it with praise, but my dad is wondering if it's maybe a defensive 'i'm bigger than you' response. He's also been hanging upside down from a perch extending from the outside of his cage and flapping his wings like crazy with an occasional scream, but to me that seems like he's bored and trying to entertain himself. Or maybe trying to practice flying? He still hasn't actually flown.
3. diet
We also have been concerned about his diet. He doesn't get an excessive amount of treats, and if he's being hand fed, it will sometimes be with the food that's normally already in his chop, but recently he became disinterested in his chop and only eats his seed mix. He's had an appropriate ratio of both, but he suddenly doesn't like the chop anymore. We're not sure why that is or what to do.
TLDR: Parrot is now afraid of me, why could that be/what should I do? Is trembling normal? Why does he always stretch when he's approached? How can we make sure he's eating right? Is there anything we should do to encourage him learning to fly now that his feathers are growing back (after his previous handler clipped them)?
Thank you for taking the time to read, sorry again about the length. We want to make sure we're doing right by our little buddy.
